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Saturday, August 4, 2012

“Through
June, [Romney’s] campaign raised the maximum contribution of $2,500 from more
than 33,000 Americans, compared with roughly 18,800 who gave that much to Obama.”
(Politico
Playbook 8/2/12)

I immediately thought: We’re
a different demographic. How many Obama supporters can contribute that kind of
money? It’s hopeless!

"But
Romney’s real advantage comes from the checks his supporters are writing to
outside groups. In June alone, a super PAC supporting Romney raised $20 million
in chunks as large as $5 million, nearly matching all the money Romney has
raised from donors giving less than $200.

“Obama
for America 2.0 is on track to beat its own records …Through the end of June,
the campaign raised $112 million from donors who gave less than $200, compared
with $93.6 million from the same group at the same point in 2008. The campaign
already boasts 2.4 million donors this cycle, a benchmark it did not hit until
late August 2008. Yet Obama’s aides are convinced they will lose the money race
this time.”

“We’re
not scared,” Obama campaign manager Jim Messina told me last week. “We’re
realistic.” He was explaining a grim and surprising fact for the Obama
campaign: The President and his allies will almost certainly be outspent this
cycle by Mitt Romney and his allies.

The
reasons are three fold: First, Romney has proven to be a great fundraiser among
high-dollar donors, far better than John McCain who always saw money in
politics as an unseemly business. Second, Romney’s donors are not just giving
to his campaign; they are giving six and seven figure checks to outside groups,
which thanks to recent court rulings, can now spend that money on advertising
up to election day. Third, Obama is having trouble raising as much money as he
did in 2008 from Americans who give the legal maximum.

We all know the Supreme
Court’s 2010 Citizens
United decision is having an incredible effect on the 2012 campaign, but the
impact in future years will be worse. Scherer continues:

The
impact of this shift may reshape presidential politics for years to come, and
it is the subject of a
piece in this week’s magazine (behind firewall). “After this election’s
over, it is much more likely that all the candidates in both parties will be
meeting with billionaires than figuring out how to mobilize millions of
people,” says Joe Trippi, who managed Howard Dean’s 2004 campaign, which
pioneered small dollar online fundraising. “It will be a huge setback.”

Scott
Reed, who ran Bob Dole’s 1996 campaign, explained the shift this way: “When you
go to set up a campaign in 2016, you are going to peel off a third of your
senior staff and say, ‘Go start a super PAC. We’ll see you after the
campaign.’”

While super PACs can spend
unlimited amounts, individuals are limited.
Here’s the disclosure at the bottom of the BarackObama.com “Donate”
page:

Obama
for America can accept contributions from an individual of up to $2,500 per
federal election (the primary and general are separate elections). By
submitting your contribution, you agree that the first $2,500 of a contribution
will be designated for the 2012 primary election, and any additional amount, up
to $2,500 will be designated for the 2012 general election.

Already
hit your limit? If you've given the maximum of $2,500 for the primary and
$2,500 for the general election to Obama for America, you can still give to the
Obama Victory Fund, our joint fundraising committee with the Democratic
National Committee, by clicking
here.

The
first $5,000 of a contribution to OVF 2012 will be allocated to Obama for
America (with the first $2,500 designated for the primary election, and the
next $2,500 for the general election). The next $30,800 of a contribution will
be allocated to the Democratic National Committee. Any additional amounts from
a contributor will be divided among the State Democratic Party Committees as
follows, up to $10,000 per committee and subject to the biennial aggregate
limits: FL (17%); OH (16%); PA (13); CO (11%); NC (11%); VA (11%); NV (6%); WI
(6%); IA (5%); and NH (4%). A contributor may designate his or her contribution
for a particular participant. The allocation formula above may change if
following it would result in an excessive contribution. Contributions will be
used in connection with a Federal election. Contributions to OVF 2012 may be
spent on any activities of the participant committees as each committee
determines in its sole discretion and will not be earmarked for any particular
candidate.

I find it disgusting that we
individual supporters have to jump through these hoops, while “they” can just
write big checks to their heart’s content.

My Personal Fundraising Effort

As many readers know, I am a
volunteer Neighborhood Team Leader with the Obama campaign in north-eastern
Naples, FL, and write a weekly newsletter for supporters in my community. (Click
here to read past issues or subscribe).
In connection with those grassroots activities I’m trying to raise
$2,000 for the campaign through a Personal Fundraising Page on
barackobama.com.

Let’s give as much as we can
to the 2012 campaign – both of our time and our money. But come November 7th, let’s figure out what
we can do to move campaign finance reform to the top of Congress’s to-do list. We
just can’t let this travesty continue.